Review

A side effect of the post-2015 Krallice saturation has been a lack of surprise. With four LPs and two EPs pushed out within the last three or so years, the only way Krallice could catch listeners off guard would be to not release something new. Musically, their recent ventures have seen their once niche sound expand into something more earthly, offering their always off-kilter take on black metal while also harboring some death and sludge influences. Profound in 2015, but less so in 2019. So what surprises could a quick-and-dirty Krallice EP really provide"

None, really. Wolf shows Krallice reaching for another rabbit out of their hat only to come up empty. But instead of grasping at nothing, Krallice just crammed the rabbits back in and gave the hat a good shake. Wolf is aggressive and rabid--more so than the dark Loum or relentless Prelapsarian. It’s a flash in the pan distillation of the last few years of Krallice’s career, but with a little more gnashing and bit more rust. It’s messy and grimy, with hints of Gorguts and modern tech-death chopped and screwed amongst the inter dimensional void that is the band’s signature sound. The songs pop but never simmer, raising hell and making way for equally tormented bouts of Quaint when compared to their magnum opus, Go Be Forgotten, it feels over before it even begins. But even at their most customary, even a mere taste of Krallice is a wonderous thing, all these years later.

Same here. I really want to like this band, God knows I tried. Their music isn't really bad, not at all. Nothing mediocre or derivative about it. By definition, I should love the shit out of this. But I don't. It just flows in one ear, and out the other. Nothing sticks. I can't tell one song from another, even if my life depends on it.